Learn Cantonese Numbers 1-10 (and How to Count Way Higher)

So you want to learn Cantonese numbers. Maybe you're planning a trip to Hong Kong, got into Cantopop, or you're tired of being the one person in your family who can't count past five at dim sum. Whatever brought you here, let's get you counting.

Here's the thing about numbers in Cantonese: they're actually one of the more logical parts of the language. Once you nail 1-10 and understand how the system works, you can count to 99,999,999. Seriously. The math just... makes sense. It's the pronunciation that'll trip you up.

The Cantonese language has six tones (yes, really)

Before we dive into the numbers themselves, we need to talk about tones. If you're coming from Mandarin, you already know the deal — say a syllable with the wrong pitch and suddenly you've said something completely different. Cantonese takes this and cranks it up.

Where Mandarin has four tones, Cantonese has six. Each number we're about to learn has a specific tone attached to it, and mixing them up can cause confusion. The good news? Numbers are great for tone practice because they're short, consistent, and you'll use them constantly.

We use a system called Jyutping to write out Cantonese pronunciation. It looks like this: jat1, ji6, saam1. The number at the end tells you which of the six tones to use. If you want a deeper dive into how Chinese tones work, we've got you covered.

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Cantonese numbers 1-10: the foundation

Here's your starting point. Master these and you've got the building blocks for every number you'll ever need:

A few things to note:

Five (五/ng5) is weird. It starts with that nasal "ng" sound that doesn't really exist in English. Think of the ending sound in "sing" but put it at the beginning of the word. It takes practice. Don't stress if you can't nail it immediately.

One and seven sound similar. jat1 and cat1 both have that clipped "-t" ending. The difference is in the initial consonant (j- vs c-) and context usually helps.

These pronunciations are different from Mandarin. If you already speak Mandarin, that's helpful for reading the Chinese characters, but you'll need to basically relearn how to say every number. The pronunciation systems between Mandarin and Cantonese share almost nothing in common here.

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Counting higher: 11-99

This is where Cantonese gets beautiful. The system is dead simple.

To say 11-19, you just say "ten" + the digit:

For 20-99, you say the digit + "ten" + (optional) ones digit:

That's it. No weird exceptions, no "eleven" and "twelve" nonsense like in English. Just multiplication and addition.

Lazy Cantonese shortcut: In casual speech, Hongkongers often say 廿 (ya6) instead of 二十 for "twenty." It's faster. You'll hear it in markets, restaurants, everyday conversation. Same deal with 卅 (sa1) for "thirty."

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Hundreds, thousands, and beyond

The same logic extends upward:

So 200 is 二百 (ji6 baak3), 3,000 is 三千 (saam1 cin1), and so on.

Here's where it gets interesting: Cantonese (like other Sinitic languages) counts in units of 10,000, not 1,000. So while English speakers think of a million as "a thousand thousands," Cantonese speakers think of it as "a hundred ten-thousands" — 一百萬 (jat1 baak3 maan6).

This takes some mental adjustment if you're used to the Western system. Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau — anywhere people speak Cantonese — they're all doing math in chunks of 萬.

Zero insertion rule: When there's a zero in the middle of a number, you need to say 零 (ling4). So 101 isn't just "one hundred one" — it's 一百零一 (jat1 baak3 ling4 jat1).

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The "two" problem: 二 vs 兩

Okay, here's something that trips up basically every learner. Cantonese has two words for "two," and you can't just pick whichever one you like.

二 (ji6) is for:

兩 (loeng5) is for:

So if someone asks how many dumplings you want, you say 兩個 (loeng5 go3) — two (of them). You'd never say 二個. It sounds wrong to native speakers.

This distinction is stricter in Cantonese than in Mandarin, so if you're coming from a Mandarin background, pay extra attention here.

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Lucky and unlucky numbers in Chinese culture

Numbers in Cantonese aren't just for counting — they carry serious cultural weight. This is one of those things that affects daily life in Hong Kong way more than you'd expect.

The number four: 四 (sei3)

Four is the most unlucky number in Cantonese culture, and the reason is purely linguistic. 四 (sei3) sounds almost identical to 死 (sei2), which means "death."

This isn't just superstition people joke about. It's real enough that:

I've seen elevators go 1, 2, 3, 5, 6... all the way up. It's wild.

The exception: 54 sounds like 唔死 (m4 sei2), which means "won't die." So that one's actually okay.

The number eight: 八 (baat3)

Eight is the luckiest number, and it's everywhere. 八 (baat3) sounds like 發 (faat3), meaning "to prosper" or "make a fortune."

The Beijing Olympics opened on 08/08/08 at 8:08:08 PM. A Hong Kong license plate with just "28" sold for over US$2 million because it sounds like "easy money" in Cantonese. People pay premium prices for phone numbers, addresses, and wedding dates with 8s.

Other notable numbers

If you're ever giving money as a gift in Hong Kong or Macau, amounts with 8s are preferred. Avoid 4s entirely.

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Hand gestures: counting to 10 with one hand

Here's something useful that nobody tells you about: Cantonese speakers (and Chinese speakers generally) can count to 10 using just one hand. It's not just a party trick — people actually use this in noisy restaurants, crowded markets, anywhere verbal communication is tough.

1-5 are what you'd expect (index finger, add middle, etc.). But 6-10 get creative:

Fair warning: some of these gestures mean different things in different regions. The "7" in Hong Kong can mean "8" in parts of mainland China. Context helps.

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Classifiers: why you can't just say "two apples"

If you want to actually use numbers in Cantonese, you need to understand classifiers (量詞). English has these too — "a sheet of paper," "a loaf of bread" — but Cantonese uses them for basically everything.

The structure is: Number + Classifier + Noun

The most common classifier is 個 (go3). It works for people, general objects, and as a default when you don't know the specific classifier. "Two people" is 兩個人 (loeng5 go3 jan4).

Other common ones:

When in doubt, use 個. It might not always be "correct," but people will understand you.

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Cantonese vs Mandarin numbers

If you're wondering whether learning Mandarin numbers helps with Cantonese: sort of, but not as much as you'd hope.

The written Chinese characters are identical — 一二三四五六七八九十 — and the counting logic works the same way. But the pronunciation is completely different. Not "different accent" different. Different syllables, different tones, different sounds entirely.

Cantonese also keeps these clipped consonant endings (-p, -t, -k) that Mandarin lost centuries ago. It's part of what makes Cantonese sound so distinct — more staccato, more punchy.

If you're interested in how Mandarin numbers 1-10 work, we've broken those down too. And if you're trying to figure out whether Cantonese is a language or dialect, that's a whole separate (and surprisingly heated) conversation.

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Actually learning Cantonese numbers

Reading about numbers is one thing. Actually being able to hear, pronounce, and use them in conversation is another.

The six-tone system means you need to hear Cantonese constantly — not just isolated vocabulary from a dictionary, but real people speaking in real contexts. Numbers show up everywhere: prices, ages, dates, phone numbers, addresses, quantities. The more you hear them used naturally, the faster the pronunciation and tones click.

This is exactly why immersion-based learning works better than drilling vocabulary lists. You're not just memorizing that 八 is "baat3" — you're hearing it in a TVB drama when characters discuss prices, or in a Cantopop song, or in a YouTube vlog from Hong Kong. That repetition in context is what makes things stick.

If you're serious about wanting to learn Chinese — whether that's Cantonese, Mandarin, or both — consuming authentic content is the fastest path. Not flash cards in isolation. Real shows, real conversations, real usage.

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Migaku's browser extension lets you watch Cantonese shows, Hong Kong movies, or YouTube videos with instant lookups. Click any word and you get the Jyutping pronunciation with tone numbers, the Chinese characters, and the definition — all while the audio keeps playing. Those numbers you just read about? You'll see them pop up constantly, and hearing native speakers use them in actual sentences is what trains your ear.

The mobile app syncs everything automatically. Words you looked up while watching become flashcards with the original audio attached. You're not drilling synthetic text-to-speech pronunciation — you're reviewing how actual Cantonese speakers said those words in context. That's the difference between "knowing" a number and actually being able to use it.

There's a 10-day free trial if you want to see how it works. Give it a shot.

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